


String Of Light

by Pizaria



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BAMF Gon, Bonding, Healing, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Loss of Innocence, M/M, Op gon, Recovery, Self-Worth Issues, Tragedy, Trauma, alternate endings, healing through friends, lots of OOC, mature gon, smart gon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:16:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27586646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pizaria/pseuds/Pizaria
Summary: Gon is a boy clad in mysteries who carries a heavy burden and has a strong aura that attracts both good and bad people. He is on a search for his estranged father and is on a journey to reclaim a lost part of himself. On the way he meets Hisoka, an eccentric magician with murderous tendencies, that Gon somehow trusts, and Killua, an ex-assassin on a journey of freedom and self-worth, who Gon relates to and wants to help. Anyone who witnesses Gon powers are always in awe, just what is the shadows that the boy controls?
Relationships: Gon Freecs/Hisoka, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck
Comments: 15
Kudos: 119





	1. The Spiders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! To start off, this is a story about Gon (obviously), but he won't be the same as in the anime our manga. His personality is, for the most part, different. He is essentially a completely different character, and this is mostly due to his past which will eventually be revealed later. His nen powers is also completely different, which is also due to his past. This will follow along with the story. Tags may change later on. So, without further ado - the story.

The first time the Phantom Troupe saw the mysterious boy was on a cool summer night, amidst the bustling streets of a city located next to the coast. It was Feitan, Phinks, Shalnark, and Machi that first witnessed the boy. The second the group felt a pair of eyes on them, they turned around and found nothing more than a young boy, seeming to be between the ages of 7 and 10 years old, quietly assessing them from afar. This wasn’t the first time that they’d been a spectacle of interest for random people, but the owner of the eyes had a clear intensity to them and was an obvious Nen-user. The boy had amber colored eyes, long knee-length jet black hair, he wore black shorts, a black cropped jacket with long sleeves extending to his knees, and a pair of black wedge thigh high boots. 

Although he was young, they were still wary of the boy. The child was obviously sizing them up, but not in a challenging way, his gaze was closer to that of curiosity than anything. However, after a while of staring, the boy eventually turned around and walked away without a single word. The group found the exchange to be rather strange, perhaps the boy knew who they were, or maybe he had sensed them and was watching them from afar to be cautious. Regardless, the night continued without incident and the boy was eventually forgotten.

At least until several months later when Chrollo, the leader of the Phantom Troupe, first met the boy. They had already noticed each other from a mile away, but neither made any drastic movement, so they each remained calm and continued about their own business. When Chrollo passed by, he wasn’t expecting to find the owner of the strong aura to be so young, he noticed that the boy was peacefully sitting next to a pond tossing small handfuls of bread crumbs from a bag into the water, feeding the fishes below and the swans floating nearby. The boy didn't seem to pay him any mind and simply continued feeding the animals quietly. Chrollo soon found himself approaching the boy, finding some need within himself to find out more about him. As the spider leader approached, the boy continued on and didn't show any signs of being hostile nor off-put by him. The boy allowed the man to continue toward him to the point where the man was now standing behind him, and yet he still didn't seem to care. As Chrollo opened his mouth to say something, the boy beat him to it and asked,

"Did you want to feed them too? I brought an extra bag of bread crumbs."

He then grabbed the extra bag next to himself and turned around to hand it to the troupe leader. Chrollo looked at the bag, a slight bit confused at the sudden and strange reaction of kindness from the boy, and he reflexively used Gyo. 

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything to the bag. Here, I'll open it for you."

The boy then opened the bag and gestured for the man to take it. Chrollo, still bewildered at the fact that the boy could be so defenseless despite clearly being a powerful Nen-user, took the bag, sat next to the boy, and began feeding the animals as well. 

"Your name?"

He asked simply.

"Gon Freecss, and yours?" 

"Chrollo Lucilfer."

With a small handful of crumbs, he gently tossed it into the water, staring at the fishes and birds having their fill before continuing.

"Your aura is very impressive."

He stated in a deferential tone. Gon giggled a bit, tossing another handful of crumbs into the water after the previous portion had finished. 

"Thank you, yours too. Did you come to talk to me about my Nen?"

Gon asked without looking at the man. 

"I was more or less drawn to it, I only know a few people with an aura like yours."

The troupe leader answered honestly, glancing at Gon briefly and seeing no shift in Gon’s demeanor, at least on the outside. Gon snickered, and with a black gloved hand, pushed back the edges of his hair behind his ear. 

"If you want to fight, I'll have to pass. I'm not really in the mood for fighting."

Gon said in a casual and slightly amused voice. Chrollo’s eyes widened a bit at this, but closed them and chuckled to himself. Perhaps it was Gon’s age that caused him to let down his guard; however, it was clear now from his response that he was clearly much smarter and more perceptive than he had originally thought. Truly, he should have known from Gon’s aura alone that he shouldn’t have underestimated him, and it was likely that Gon knew from the very beginning as well.

"You knew I wanted to fight you?"

After having said that, Chrollo did not expect the first reaction to him confirming that his original intention was to fight… was a chortle, and when the leader looked over, he could see a small smile on the child’s face. 

"Someone strong like you wouldn't approach someone else with a strong aura just to talk. Plus, your eyes are saying that they want to fight me as well."

"You're smarter than you look."

At that, Gon pouted cutely and huffily threw a handful of crumbs into the water, surprising the swans and causing them to flap their wings slightly and paddle backwards a bit.

"Rude."

"I didn't mean it that way. Besides, I really did also just want to know more about you, fighting and observing a person's nen can tell you a lot about them."

Chrollo stated, still hinting that he wanted to fight Gon. The child huffed and pulled his knees closer to his chest.

"I still won't fight you, if you attack me, I'm just going to run away. I don’t necessarily hate fighting, it can actually be quite fun, so maybe I'll fight you the next time we meet."

The response from Gon had taken him aback a bit and he looked over at him, while at this point, absentmindedly tossing another handful into the water.

"You believe that there will be a next time?"

Gon simply shrugged at the question.

"Well, it's a big, but also small, world. Strong people seem to naturally find their way to each other. It's strange."

Although Gon may have said it as an offhand comment, Chrollo found it to be an all too true statement, which further proved that the child was more than he appeared to be. The troupe leader smiled as he side-eyed Gon.

"I have no doubt that we will meet each other again in the future. As enemies or as allies, we have yet to see."

"As allies would be nice, fighting you would probably be pretty tiring, and… having a friend would be nice…"

Chrollo does not need to look hard to see the hidden pain following those words behind Gon’s gentle smile and his distant and lonely eyes. To him, it was a nostalgic expression, and he can only distantly recall feeling the same emotions himself long ago. 

"Friends, huh. A normal child your age should have plenty of friends."

Chrollo said without much intent. Gon scoffed softly as he stared into the water's surface with glassy eyes.

"Well, I'm not really normal, and I don't have any friends. I wasn't allowed to have friends."  
This piqued the troupe leader’s interest and he pushed the subject while disguising it as nothing more than pure, genuine curiosity.

"Did your parents or guardians not allow you too?"

Gon fiddled with the crumbs in his gloved hand, absentmindedly crushing the small pieces between his fingers and repeating the process all over again.

"I don't have parents... Well, my father is still alive, but he left when I was really young, and I don't know what happened to my mother either. But, I remember my auntie, she was like a mother to me…"

"Was?"

Chrollo noticed that Gon dodged the question of why he wasn’t allowed to have companions, but ushered on nonetheless. Gon’s brows furrowed and a deep frown fell upon his lips, his face now contorting into a look of anger, frustration, despair, and many other emotions all at once. It was clear to the leader that this was a very sensitive topic to the child.

"She was taken away by bad people, so I'm looking for her right now, but… it hasn't been very easy. I'm at a dead end right now, so I've just been following rumors of black markets and going city after city raiding them to look for her…"

"How long has it been?"

At this, Gon fidgeted, his eyes darting around, clearly conveying that he was trying to calculate or recall the time, which Chrollo found to be a slight bit odd. Perhaps, this had some connection to why he couldn’t have any companions.

"Um, about four or five years now, I think…"

Chrollo hummed thoughtfully to himself, considering the idea of giving Gon some information that could prove to be valuable. Until, he came to a conclusion, which led him to deciding to tell Gon.

"Well, if they haven't already killed her and harvested her organs, you might want to try going to Kalyka city down south. Quite a bit of human trafficking occurs there."

At that, Gon sprang up, his body and expression immediately becoming more full of life, energy, and urgency.

"Really?! Are you sure?!"

He asked hurriedly, his once seemingly dull eyes now taking on new life. This sudden change in demeanor certainly caught the troupe leader off guard a bit as he saw a fire burning in Gon's eyes.

"Indeed, lots of underground goods pass through there, even if she isn't there, you will at least be able to obtain valuable information there. Of course, you'd need to interrogate the right people to get it."

At the reassurance, a big and bright smile appeared on Gon's face, truly showing Gon's age.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! If she really is there, I'll be sure to let her know that you helped me!"

Gon thanked the man vigorously and he even began hopping around a little; however, due to Gon's excitement, he missed the barely noticeable sly smirk on the man's lips.

"That doesn't really do much for me. How about this, if I am right and you do find her there, then the next time we meet, you will do one thing I say."

Gon stopped to think for a moment before agreeing to the man's terms.

"Hmm, only if it doesn't involve me killing people, then I don’t mind.”

“Hm, very well, until then.”

“Until then!”

And with that, they both finished tossing the rest of the bread crumbs and went about their separate ways, knowing that they would no doubt meet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all liked that first part! My writing skills are a bit rusty, but I'm sure I'll get back in the groove in no time. I'll try to go light on the tags and try to do more implied stuff, maybe. I'll just have to see as I write it. Also, I wanna make note that I do plan on making alternate endings for this, one for Killua and one for Hisoka.


	2. The Magician

The first time Hisoka met the boy was on the rooftop of a building during one of his jobs. The boy was already on the rooftop by the time he had arrived, and it was Hisoka that made the first move to interact with the boy. How could he resist when the boy had an aura like that. When the magician called out to him, he turned around to face him, and the moment the magician stared into the boys eyes, he immediately felt a bolt of electricity coursing arousingly to his groin. Looking into the boy's empty eyes, Hisoka could already feel the potential emanating from his small body. Hisoka licked his lips sensually and began to approach him; however, immediately after the first step, the boy jumped off the roof into an alleyway and quickly joined the bustling waves of people below. 

“Maybe he’s shy.” Hisoka mused to himself before continuing on with his job.

It wasn’t long before he met the boy again a few days later in the same city, except this time, in the slums of the city. It was sundown when Hisoka decided to go from rooftop to rooftop searching for the boy, and that was when he noticed a crowd of police officers surrounding a seemingly rundown and abandoned building. Curious, he quietly perched himself on a rooftop and watched from a building across the street. Moments later, the doors were kicked open, causing the officers to flinch and instinctively aim their guns at the door. To his surprise, it was the boy that he had been searching for - expect, it wasn’t just the boy. As the child calmly walked through the doors, held tightly in both of his fists were two men being dragged out by the hairs on their heads. The two men struggled feebly, but it was clear that they were too bruised and beaten to fight their ways out of the boy’s grip. The boy then threw the two men down on the ground, which they were promptly picked up off the ground and cuffed by awaiting officers; he then pointed into the building and began talking to the officers. As if on command, the officers quickly filled the building. Soon enough, they were coming out with women, and even children, wrapped in blankets and helping them into transport vehicles. 

As the boy watched the men being shoved into the back of police cars, his gaze eventually trailed up the building across the street until he made eye contact with Hisoka. The boy seemed to sigh at the strange man’s gaze as he noticed that the man was seemingly getting more excited the longer he stared. From the man’s gaze alone, he could tell that the strange clown man wanted very much to fight him. Just the thought was already tiring, now that the clown man had found him once again, it was likely that he was going to follow him until they were alone. Once the place was cleared out and the sun had disappeared, the boy left into a nearby alleyway and made his way to the hotel he was currently staying at, knowing that the man would eventually stop him on his way and the boy could deny him and get some sleep. Although, like many others, he would likely be forced to fight no matter how much he denied them.

Then, just as he expected, the man was already waiting for him at the next turn. The boy only briefly glanced at him before continuing on his way, only to be stopped by a hand, holding an ace of hearts card, out in front of his face. Of course, the boy had no other choice but to stop; when he looked back up at the man, he saw a sly grin on his face, which caused an uncomfortable chill to run down his spine. 

“I won’t fight you, so please, leave me alone.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’m pretty good at escaping and hiding.”

The two then stared at each other for a while, their eyes narrowed and calculating, almost challenging each other. At last, a smirk graced the clown man’s face and he gave in, which surprised the young boy; people were typically more adamant on fighting him and would usually force him to fight by immediately attacking him. 

“Very well, it’d be boring if the opponent wasn't motivated to fight as well. There's nothing more boring than a half-assed fight. Besides, I'd hate to have you disappear on me, especially when I spent such a long time searching for you."

"I'm sorry, I really am, but I'm pretty tired from what just happened. Besides, I'm not very experienced, so fighting me wouldn’t be any fun."

"Well, we'd never know unless we tried." Hisoka said, trying for one last push. 

"I'm pretty sure we both already know, maybe once I've gained more experience, I'll take you up on your offer. Until then, I'll have to pass."

Hisoka shrugged at the answer, finding it better to give in, rather than losing something so interesting in the otherwise boring city.

"Truly a shame, but I guess it can't be helped; however, once you’ve become stronger, I won’t let you escape next time.”

The magician warned. The boy smiled and laughed softly. 

“Thank you for understanding. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some rest so that I may train early tomorrow morning.”

Just as the boy was about to continue on his way, he stopped when the man began to speak again.

“Hmm, leaving so soon? Even though I took the time to search for you? Isn’t that a bit cold?”

At hearing this, the boy’s eyes widened and he quickly turned around, his face now looking incredibly worried and ashamed. The magician was surprised by this drastic change in attitude and his eyes widened in almost disbelief.

“Eh? I, um, I'm sorry… I didn’t mean to come off as cold and hurt your feelings, you see, I’m not very good at talking to people... it’s just that days like these are a bit stressful, so I get tired rather quickly.” The boy stated apologetically, his face the slightest bit red, his head downcast, and his hands fiddling with his sleeves. Hisoka could tell that the boy genuinely felt ashamed and embarrassed of himself, but what really surprised the magician was that the boy was actually concerned that he may have hurt the magician’s feelings. That was a first.

“Um, if you’d like, there’s a cafe nearby, we can go and talk there if you want.” The boy offered kindly, trying to make an honest effort to make up for possibly hurting the man’s feelings. 

“Oh, taking me out on a date already, how adorable.” Hisoka said, obviously amused and more intrigued than before. The boy snickered and they both made their way through the alleyways until they exited the city slums and headed toward the aforementioned cafe. There, Hisoka learned that the boy’s name was Gon Freecss and was looking for his kidnapped aunt, as well as other people that had been taken from his hometown, and he would cooperate with law enforcement to bust any underground activities anytime he went on a raid looking for his aunt and the survivors of his hometown. However, this was all that he could get out of the boy. They later shared their contact information and Hisoka walked Gon to his hotel before going his separate way. 

A couple of months passed by when they met again, but in a different city. They both knew they would see each other again, but not this soon. 

Gon laughed softly and Hisoka chuckled lowly.

“How sweet, you followed me all the way here? Did you change your mind and decided to fight me?” 

“You wish, I just followed some rumors here. I just finished what I had to do not too long ago, so I’ll be on the move again once tomorrow comes. What are you here for?”

“What a coincidence, I just happened to finish a job as well. I’m feeling a bit hungry, care to join me?”

“Sure, will you tell me what kind of job it was?”

“Hm, these things are typically confidential, but it’s not like I cared about that kind of stuff in the first place.” 

As they ate at a nearby restaurant, Hisoka noticed that Gon was much more comfortable talking to him the second time, and he was smiling a bit more than before. 

The next time they met in a different town, Hisoka found the boy playing hopscotch with a few of the local children just a bit younger than the boy himself. The moment he approached and the other children noticed him, they immediately ran away at the sight of him, causing Gon to wholeheartedly laugh at the entire situation. Hisoka pouted a bit at Gon’s reaction, to which Gon tried his best to stop laughing while also wheezing out apologies.

As months went by, they would find themselves running into each other in different cities every now and then, and the more comfortable the boy became with him, Hisoka could tell that the boy was becoming very attached to him, which he found to be strange. This was the first time that anyone had become so comfortable with him, let alone attached to him, but there was no denying the way the boy’s face would light up at seeing him and how he would always jog over to him. It was truly a strange sensation. No matter how much he teased and messed with the boy, it didn't make him scared or uncomfortable, it was as if he didn't know that the way Hisoka treated him was abnormal.

This concluded his theory that Gon was actually a very lonely child, with no companion whatsoever, what other reason would there be for any sane human to be so delighted at the sight of him. Hisoka also noticed that the boy absolutely hated to be touched by anyone, anywhere; he was made aware of that when he had made the mistake of tapping the boy on the shoulder at the beginning of their relationship - only to have his hand violently slapped away. Gon whipped his head around, his expression drenched in utter terror, sweat already forming on his forehead, and once he realized that it was only Hisoka, he calmed down immediately and desperately apologized. Once the boy was completely comfortable with him, as long as he didn’t touch him by surprise, the boy was fine with being touched by him. Hisoka found this detail to be of high interest and he slowly began to piece things together.

It was clear that Gon’s hometown had been attacked, and it was likely that it was a small place if Gon could list all the victims. His aunt, as well as others, had been kidnapped and was likely being sold or trafficked on the black market. Hisoka would have assumed that the boy was kept safe, until he learned that the boy had no friends or companions, and lacked proper communication and writing skills, as well as having a rather difficult time comprehending basic mathematics. But, most importantly, it was the fact that the boy hated and was terrified of being touched. Of course, it could be caution based, but even that wouldn’t cause such a fearful and violent reaction. So it was possible that Gon wasn’t kept safe after all… 

However, the magician had no way of confirming this due to the boy’s refusal to reveal any more of his past. Perhaps when the boy was more comfortable with him in the future, he would be willing to share his past with the magician.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all happening pre-hunter exam arc by the way. The warning tags are also not done by any of the main characters.


	3. The Assassin

The first time Killua met the boy was on a rainy day, just after he had finished a job and was waiting on Illumi to come and get him, knowing that his older brother already had a tracker on him. Although Killua was not aware of how to use Nen, he could still tell when he was being watched, especially when the person wasn't hiding it. Still riding on the high of just having killed someone, he quickly sprung around to attack whoever was watching him from behind; however, he managed to stop himself when he realized that it was actually a child the same age as him watching him from a nearby alleyway. 

The boy watched him quietly, and he tilted his head to the side a slight bit, in a seemingly curious manner. Killua opened his mouth to tell the other boy off, but was abruptly cut off by the boy.

"Do you like killing?"

The boy asked simply. The question caught Killua off guard and rendered him speechless for a brief moment. No one had ever asked him if he liked or disliked it before, only of whether to kill or not to. He was never given freedom to decide for himself. 

"What does it matter to you?"

Killua replied venomously. There was another long pause from the boy, he was clearly assessing the young assassin, which was beginning to anger him.

"You didn't answer my question. Do you not like my question?"

Killua was taken aback by the words of the strange boy. Why would he ask if he liked the question or not? What kind of question was that and why would it even matter?

But when he thought about it, he realized that he actually didn't like the question. For some unknown reason, the question caused a slight ache in his chest that he wished would go away. 

"Shut up, just go away if you don't want to die." He didn’t like this kind of pain, it was the sort of pain that resonated and settled deep into his soul, and he just wanted it to stop.

The boy tilted his head slightly to the opposite side and continued to assess him quietly. Killua, slowly becoming more and more irritated the longer the boy stared at him, angrily approached the boy until they were face to face.

"Quit looking at me like a creep! I told you to go away or else I'll kill you!"

Killua shouted angrily into the boy's face. Then, the look on the boy's face shifted into an almost sad expression.

"Killing is bad, you shouldn't do it, especially if you don't like it. Doing things you don’t like is bad for your mind and your heart."

Killua desperately wanted to shut the boy up. He never had to talk about these things before, and he didn’t want to. Just the thought of it alone felt uncomfortable to him, and he would feel something swell up painfully in his chest, ready to burst at any moment and making it hard for him to breathe.

" _It's painful, isn't it?_ " The look on the boy’s face was empathetic and sorrowful.

Killua could only gape. The words echoed loudly in his mind and wrung his heart so. He could feel something rising from the depths of his heart, like water slowly seeping to the surface from deep underground. The rain suddenly began to feel lighter, like nothing more than a gentle sprinkle across his skin, and felt barely noticeable compared to the feeling in his chest. He felt a strange sensation, as if finally being seen for the first time as a person rather than as a thing, his heart began to beat achingly with a growing sense of yearning for something distant, like a dream or a wish.

_Of course, it's painful, but how could you know that when you just met me… and, yet, nobody else in my life does..._

These words and these feelings weren't allowed, if his family knew, he would no doubt be in a lot of trouble.

"Then… what the hell am I supposed to do?" Killua asked in a quaking voice, almost like a quiet, desperate plea for an answer. A way out.

The boy could see just how conflicted the young assassin was, and for a brief moment - he saw himself in him. He saw a young boy, scared and trembling, begging to be set free. Begging for someone to save him from the darkness around him, and he felt his heart squeeze.

"Doing whatever you like best sounds good."

Killua scoffed, his soaked hair casting shadows to hide his eyes as he looked to the ground.

"Heh… you make it sound so easy, like it's point A to point B…"

_If only it were that easy…_

"Hm, probably, but you look smart, I think you'll turn out okay. But, someone once told me that the most difficult hurdles are the ones we make for ourselves."

Killua just barely lifted his head to look back at the boy. His expression was soft and caring, something he had never experienced from another person.

"What? What do you mean?"

The boy looked to the side thoughtfully for a moment before answering back.

"Well, whatever it means to you, I still think that you should do the things you like. When you do things you like, you eventually meet others that like the same things as well! It's great for lots of unexpected and wonderful meetings."

He said warmly, accompanied by a genuine smile. It was a gentle smile, something he had only witnessed from a far - like kind and loving parents smiling to their children or good friends smiling, laughing, and telling jokes to each other. Killua cast his eyes back down and balled up his fists tightly.

"I… don't even know what I like myself…"

"Hmm… well, did you like talking to me?"

"Eh? Well, talking with you isn't that bad…"

Killua said in a slightly bashful manner, which caused the boy to smile wider.

"Then maybe you should find lots of people to talk to, maybe you'll make lots of friends that will take you to lots of places and have a really fun time!"

The boy suggested in a cheerful way. Killua sighed exasperatedly.

"There you go again, making things sound so easy. You-" Before he could finish, the boy abruptly cut him off again.

"Sorry, but I have to go now. Just know that when you do eventually find a way out, you’ll have one friend waiting on the outside for you. I really hope we meet again! Bye-bye!" The boy waved softly before disappearing into the darkness of the alleyway.

"Friend? Hey, wait-"

Killua almost reached out to stop the boy, until an all too familiar voice stopped him.

"Kil, who are you talking to?"

It was strange how mere words, let alone a person’s voice, seemed to have the ability to snake around one’s heart and mind in a dark cloud and settle dread deep into their chest. Everytime Illumi appeared, he always found it hard to breathe normally and tried his best to avoid looking into his black, abyss-like eyes. 

"Nobody. I just thought I saw something… I think my eyes were just playing tricks on me…"

"Hmm…”

Illumi hummed thoughtfully to himself whilst staring perceptively down at his younger brother. If Killua had seen someone, that was a very skilled someone, as Illumi arrived at his brother’s location, he felt no trace of there being anyone around, neither before nor after. He narrowed his eyes briefly into the dark alleyway before deciding to save the issue for another time, if this was going to be a problem, he doubted this would be the last time it would happen. He would be sure to deal with it next time.

“Well, no matter, let's go, Kil."

"Yeah…"

Killua responded in a somber tone, casting one last glance into the alleyway before disappearing with his brother. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think of it so far!


	4. The Hunter Exam: Part 1

As Gon dried the last dish and placed it back in the cupboard, he glanced over at the hanging clock and noticed that it was almost time for him to depart. He walked over to his knitting grandmother, sitting in the living room.

"Grandma, it's time for me to go now. Sorry that I couldn't stay longer."

Gon apologized, placing a gloved hand on his grandmother's shoulder. His grandmother looked up at him and placed her frail hand over his.

"It's okay, sweetie, you do what you have to do." Her voice was soft and understanding.

"I promise I'll write to you about how the hunter exam went, okay?"

"Oh, dear, you don't need to do that, I can barely read at this age, just come back and tell me about it yourself. I would much rather prefer that than a letter."

"Okay, grandma, take care."

"Just promise you'll come back, dear."

Gon’s smile softened and he bent down to give her a parting kiss on the cheek.

"I promise, with everything that's happened, you can bet that I'll be back no matter what." 

After Gon gave her one last hug around the shoulders, he picked up his black backpack sitting next to the door and slipped it over his thin shoulders. As he gave a final goodbye to his grandmother, he walked out and headed for the port, where the ship taking him to the hunter exam location would soon arrive. On his way down towards the docks, Gon gazed up ahead at the clear blue sky, taking long deep breaths to calm himself. He had never taken a test before and he had no idea what to expect for a Hunter's exam. He trembled at the thought of it being a written exam, he spent the last couple of months mostly training his body and nen. However, although he did spend part of his time studying through books, he wasn't at all confident in any sort of academic field. He especially hated math. Math was the worst. His stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought of having to socialize with new people as well, his grandma and the people on the island taught him the basics of how to socialize with people, but he still felt anxious. He would have to force himself to step out of his comfort zone to try to make normal conversation with people like a normal person living a normal life. He was usually fine when it was just people trying to pick fights with him because his fists did most of the talking, and he was fine with talking to younger children because all he would have to say was that he wanted to play with them and they would usually let him. When he arrived at the docks, the villagers were already there waiting to cheer him on and encourage him, which he was incredibly grateful for.

When he boarded the ship, he was immediately met with wary and scathing eyes from several people also wanting to take the exam. 

“Good morning.”

Gon greeted simply and made his way to the stairs to head down towards the main deck, when a ruckus below the stairs caught his attention. It appeared that a crewmate had been pushed over a crate of apples and was being bullied by their fellow shipmates, this did not sit well with the boy and he descended the stairs to confront them, until the doors of the captain’s cabin burst open and the captain of the ship shouted at them to get back to work. As the crewmate who was being bullied quickly picked up the crate of apples, Gon found a left out apple and stopped the man to briefly toss the apple into the box before gently waving him off with a smile. The loud squawking of the seagulls caught his attention and he glanced up at that sky.

“It appears that a storm is headed this way.”

Gon calmly told the ship captain. The captain looked at the boy with a look of surprise before asking how he knew.

“From the behavior of the seagulls and the direction, length, and speed of the cirrus clouds in the sky. You’re a captain, right? I’m sure you can tell yourself.”

Just as predicted, a large storm quickly overtook the once blue sky and thrashed the ship around in a series of violent waves. Many of the ship's occupants quickly became seasick from the storm and were rendered motionless and sickly. The few that remained unfazed by the storm were the ship's captain, Gon, and two other men. One was a young and blonde teenage male reading silently in a hammock, and the other was a tall and black haired male appearing to be in his thirties, but he wasn’t sure. The captain brought the remaining into the bridge and questioned them as to why they wanted to become hunters, to which Gon answered honestly. He didn't really see a reason why he shouldn't.

“I’m looking for my father, who is also a hunter. Having a hunter license may prove to be convenient in my search, and in giving me the authority and security when on missions.”

The captain suspected that the boy was perhaps Ging’s son, but he couldn’t be sure. As the two men, who were now known as Kurapika and Leorio, argued and left to settle their differences on deck, a waterspout appeared and sent the whole ship into a panic. Gon offered to help and ran right behind Katsuo, the bullied crewmate from earlier, to help on deck. As things escalated and Katsuo was blown off the ship, Gon dived out to save him. Just as he was about to use his nen to get himself and Katsuo back onto the ship, Leorio and Kurapika clung to the side of the ship to grab his ankles and bring them back on board. Gon felt a sickening feeling squirm in the pit of his stomach when he felt hands grab him, but due to the situation at hand, he shook his head and forced that feeling back and ignored it. 

When the sky cleared, the two men scolded Gon for his thoughtless and rash decision.

“But, you did catch me. You both caught me!”

Gon was happy that the two seemed to be getting along better now, he loved it when people got along and became friends. When Katsuo ran over to thank them, the two became bashful and Gon couldn't help but giggle and smile at that. People always looked the best when they were smiling and having fun. When they got off the ship, the captain informed him to head toward the giant cedar tree on the top of the hill. Gon thanked him graciously and went to let Kurapika and Leorio know as well. Gon was grateful to have the two accompanying him, although he had only known them for a short time, he could tell they were good people from their earlier actions aboard the ship. He didn't fully trust them yet, but he still knew he could rely on them. After they passed the trial in the rundown city, unveiled the mystery behind the Kiriko, and were finally brought to the hunter exam location, Gon watched Leorio and Kurapika arguing again as they descended underground in the elevator. He honestly felt that the arguing was pointless. From his experience, there were many different kinds of Hunters, each of them having one or two quirks about them that came from experience and shaped their powers and them as a person. And although it was considered a noble profession, it wasn't exactly filled with the most ethical of people. Most, if not all, Hunters resided more within a morally grey area. Thankfully, just as they were pinning the decision of what a proper hunter should be, the elevator doors opened and Gon breathed a sigh of relief.

The moment the doors opened and they stepped into the room, all eyes were on them. Gon stepped forward and greeted everyone with a slight bow and said, 

"Good afternoon."

Leorio then bent down and viciously whispered to Gon.

“Are you dense!? Can’t you sense the tension?!”

“Oh, sorry, I thought it was what people were supposed to do...”

Gon said with his head slightly bowed and embarrassed. He didn’t understand what he did wrong, he was just doing what he was taught to do by his grandmother and villagers. It seems that there was a lot that he still didn’t understand about people.

“Well, yeah, but not this place, nobody here cares about that!”

When everyone ignored his greeting, it saddened him a bit, but he guessed that it was because everyone was wary, so it couldn't be helped. As Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio began to talk amongst themselves, a man named Tonpa approached them in a friendly way; however, Gon could sense a slight bit of maliciousness in him. As Tonpa conversed with them, there was an abrupt shout of pain, causing everyone in the room to draw their attention to and circle around the commotion. Standing in the center was a tall man dressed like a joker, he had wavy red slicked back hair, a star drawn on his right cheek and a tear drawn on his left, and an unmistakable devil's smile on his face. 

“Oh, how peculiar… his arms seem to have become flower petals. No smoke and mirrors here. Do take care. When you bump into someone, you really should apologize.”

The look on everyone's faces immediately became fearful and wary of the man, all except one.

“That psychopath is back again…”

“Does that mean he took last year’s exam?” Kurapika asked.

“Number 44. Hisoka, the magician. Last year, he was a virtual lock to pass the test, until he all but killed an examiner he didn’t like.”

“A-And they’re still allowing him to retake the exam this year?!” Leorio exclaimed.

“Of course. Every year, the examiners and test content change, and the examiners are the ones who choose the new content. The devil himself could pass if that were the examiners’ determination. That’s just how the hunter exam works. Anyway no one likes him. You should stay away from him, too.”

“He looks dangerous. That much is for sure.” Leorio deduced warily.

“Oh, right…”

However, before Tonpa could continue, Gon immediately started to lightly jog away, catching the attention of Kurapika, Leorio, and Tonpa.

“Hey, Gon, wait! What are you doing, are you crazy?!”

Leorio shouted after Gon when they all realized he was heading after the magician, and then, something out of the blue happened. Once Gon caught up to the man, he tugged at the cloth wrapped around the magician’s waist, causing a slight heart attack in everyone that witnessed. When the magician turned around, he was greeted with the sight of a starry eyed and excited boy looking up at him.

“Yay! It really is you, Hisoka! It’s been a while! I’m so glad I could see you again! So you came to take the hunter exam, too? Thank goodness, now I can feel a little less nervous around so many new people!”

Gon said with relief, a hand resting over his chest. Hisoka smiled down at the boy and patted him on the top of his head.

“My, my, if it isn't my adorable little puppy, Gon. Have you been avoiding me? We haven’t run into each other in a while.” Hisoka said in a mock wounded tone.

“Sorry, about that, I’ve been training at home for the past couple of months, but I thought I messaged you to let you know about that already!”

“Oh, really? I guess I must have forgotten~”

“Liar, you’re just trying to make me feel bad. Oh, Hisoka, I made some new friends! I’ll introduce you! They’re standing over there!”

Gon then grabbed the magician's much larger hand and began leading him over to where Kurapika, Leorio, and Tonpa were standing. When Tonpa realized what the boy was doing, he immediately said his farewells and quickly scuttled away without another word.

"Kurapika, Leorio, this is Hisoka, he's a close friend of mine! We've known each other for a couple of years now."

The two stared baffled at the boy. How could someone as sweet and kind as  _ Gon _ be _ close friends  _ with a fiend like  _ Hisoka _ ? Perhaps the boy’s denseness had some sort of play in it, but it was without a doubt the fault of some manipulation tactic from the magician. They were sure of it.

However, because the two were still in a state of shock from the news, they missed the slight change in Hisoka's expression. When the words "Hisoka" and "close friend" left the boy's lips, Hisoka's eyes widened. Despite their four years of acquaintance with one another, this was the actual first time that Gon had flat out called him his friend. No one in their right mind would ever, let alone have the guts to, refer to him as such a thing. No one wanted to be his friend and he never intended to ever make any, so the thought of friendship was such a foreign subject to him. In spite of him always purposely teasing the boy and trying to make him angry or upset with him, it was a true mystery how the boy could withstand him and even call him a friend. 

And something, a feeling so small that even Hisoka himself missed it, stirred within him. 

Gon was truly an enigma.

"Hisoka, these are my new friends, Kurapika and Leorio! We met each other just yesterday, but I really like them! I hope you guys will get along!" Gon said in a cheery and innocent voice.

"Of course, Gon, why wouldn't we get along? I'm already starting to feel an affinity for them as well~"

Hisoka said with an almost leering tone of voice, his gaze trailing over to them and failing to hide any sort of ulterior motive. The two felt a shiver slither up their spines at the magician’s expression, a stark contrast to the innocent and happy look on the boy’s face.

"Really? That's great! What about you guys, Leorio, Kurapika?" Gon turned to look at them with sparkling, hopeful eyes.

“Eh… I don’t...” Leorio’s sentence began to trail off and the smile on Gon’s face began to wither, and so was the magician’s facade. When Kurapika noticed the slightest, barely noticeable, tick in Hisoka’s brow, he swiftly jabbed Leorio in the gut with his elbow to shut him up.

“Ah, of course, we are also looking forward to getting to know Hisoka, as well. If he’s a, uh, close friend of yours, then he must be a really great guy.”

Kurapika said, struggling with himself in order to keep the boy happy. Hisoka could obviously tell just how much he had to force himself to say those words, and he reveled in their discomfort. Although it was hard to tell, he didn’t really want to find out what the magician would do if they made him sad. Just what did Gon see in him?

“Yeah, he is, he’s also really funny, too! He likes to tease people a lot, but that’s just how he is. If you overlook that, I just know you guys will like him too!” 

The look of relief and joy on Gon’s face almost made the lie worth it. Almost. If it wasn’t for the creepy self-satisfied look on the magician’s face that only Leorio and Kurapika seemed to notice. As long as Gon was around, they hoped that the magician would try to keep up his friendly façade with Gon and not try anything with them.

Before they knew it, they heard the sound of some sort of strange alarm go off, and the stone wall at the opposite end of the room lifted to reveal that it was actually a large tunnel. After being instructed that they were to follow their examiner, Satotz, to the second phase, everyone started at a walking pace, then a running pace through the tunnel. As the first phase progressed and contestants steadily began dropping away like flies, Gon heard Leorio shout at a white haired kid, who looked oddly familiar, that the test was an endurance test and that he couldn't ride his skateboard because it was considered cheating. Gon couldn't help but cut in to correct his friend.

“No, it isn’t.”

“Gon, what are you saying?!”

"The examiner only told us to follow him.”

“Whose side are you on, eh?”

When the white haired kid turned around to face Gon, his eyes widened immediately at the sight of him and he slowed his pace so they could both be side by side.

"Hey, it's you, you're that kid from the alley a few years back." The other boy said in a pleasantly surprised tone of voice. Gon smiled at the other boy and tried his best to remember where he had seen him before, his inner brows tipping slightly upwards in bemusement.

"Hm, I feel like I kind of remember you, too. But, I have a pretty bad memory, so I can't really recall what our meeting was about."

Gon stated honestly, and the joyful look on the other boy's face withered slightly. Gon felt a little bad about not being able to remember when and where he had met the boy and what they talked about, because the boy seemed like he was happy to run into Gon again. 

"Yeah, I guess you might not have remembered. It probably wasn't that big of a deal to you, but it was a pretty big deal to me. So, yeah, uh, thanks, for what you said to me then. Even though you don't remember. Not that there's anything wrong with you not remembering. I wanted to let you know, that's all."

Gon could hear the bashfulness in his voice and he giggled. It really was a shame that he couldn’t remember their past, but he was happy that he was able to help him in some way.

"No problem, I'm glad I could help!"

"So, how old are you?"

"I'm twelve years old."

The white haired boy hopped off his skateboard and sent it flying into the air, when he caught it and slipped it under his arm, he glanced over to Gon and smiled at him.

"Sweet, we're the same age then. My name's Killua."

"I'm Gon Freecss, nice to meet you again, Killua!"

"Yeah, me too." Killua responded with a pleasant smile, the faintest blush on his cheeks. Gon returned the smile graciously and he could tell that there was something nice and light in Killua’s smile. Even though Gon had met him a long time ago and could barely remember him, Killua had remembered him and by the smile on his face, he seemed to have subconsciously made a friend of him ever since that day. 

Unbeknownst to Gon, since their meeting that night, Killua often found his eyes searching through dark alleyways, waiting for the strange boy to appear before him again. Because, without Killua realizing it, the boy’s words had connected them, and no matter how thin that line between them was, he wanted to protect it, he wanted to have that one string of light, and so he clung onto it. As Killua remained trapped in the darkness of his previous life, he always felt that there was at least one person - one friend - that was waiting for him out there somewhere. Killua had never known just how important one speck of light could be, and how much hope it could give him. Gon helped to solidify the desire for freedom within him; the desire to have the ability to do whatever he wanted, to go wherever and be with whoever he wanted to be with no matter what anyone else said.

As Killua and Gon chatted while jogging up the stairs in the first phase, Gon felt compelled to ask his new friend what his reasoning for joining the hunter exam was.

“Hey, why do you want to become a Hunter?”

“Me? I’m not really interested in becoming a Hunter. I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it’d be fun. But this is disappointing.”

Gon chuckled at that and Killua smiled at his reaction.

“What about you?”

“Well, I’m looking for my father, since he’s also a Hunter, I figured that I’d need to be a Hunter to find a Hunter. According to my grandma, my father also took the exam when he was twelve, not that I’m taking it now for that reason.”

“So, like a Hunter hunting and Hunter? That sounds amusing!”

“Well, when you say it like that, it does sound a little funny!”

As they continued jogging Gon picked up his pace a little to catch up to Hisoka, who was only a little ways up ahead. 

“Hisoka! Guess what! I made another new friend!” Gon called out excitedly.

Killua balked at realizing that Gon somehow knew the creepy looking magician.

“This is Killua, he’s the same age as I am!” Gon stated to Hisoka while gesturing to Killua.

“Killua, this is Hisoka! He’s actually the first friend I’ve ever had! We’re a few years apart, but we get along great! I hope you can get along with Hisoka as well, Killua.”

Killua looked up and cringed when he found the creep already looking down at him with a wide smirk on his face.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Killua~”

“Geh… yeah…” 

Killua was happy to be able to meet Gon again, but why did he have to be associated with that freak of all people! Hopefully, he could distract Gon with some random chatter and gradually guide the both of them further away from the creep. And thus, little by little, Killua would pick his pace up just a bit and Gon would unknowingly pick up his own pace in order to keep up with Killua and continue their conversation. However, Hisoka wasn’t one to be fooled and saw through the young ex-assassin’s plan.

“Gon, how could you!” Hisoka called out in a pretend wounded tone, immediately causing Gon to slow down a bit and turn to look at Hisoka.

“You abandon and ignore me for months, and now you’re already getting ready to replace me. In front of me, no less.” Hisoka said sulkily, followed by a pout.

"What? No! I'm not replacing you! I'm so sorry, Hisoka. I- I didn't mean to make you feel abandoned, you're my friend, I would never do that to you!" Gon exclaimed in utmost sincerity, his expression apologetic and worried.

"I really am sorry, please forgive me. I promise I'm not replacing you." The boy said reassuringly, now giving the magician all of his attention. 

Of course, Hisoka knew that. He was his  _ close friend _ after all.

"Well, I guess I'll trust you this time~"

After hearing that, the look on Gon’s face relaxed and he sighed in relief. A big fat happy smile then plastered itself across his face.

"I'm so glad! I would never want to make you think that our friendship was any less valuable just because I make new friends." 

"Oh, Gon, you really do have a way with words~" 

It truly was strange how much the boy cared about Hisoka’s feelings, especially since he knew that the magician loved killing out of pure pleasure. It just showed how important friendships and connections were to the boy and how much he cared about the way others felt. Killua couldn’t help but feel a rising sense of jealousy, like a snake slithering to shore from deep waters. Hisoka could practically taste the young ex-assassin’s jealousy, and he reveled in the bitter look on his face.

A light gleamed in the distance and Gon smiled widely.

“Hey, look! It’s the exit! Race you, Killua!” Gon said excitedly.

The sour look on Killua’s face was instantly dispelled and he grinned up at Gon.

“Oh, you are so on!” He replied back, and just as he picked up his pace, he spared Hisoka a resentful glance before hurrying on. Hisoka smirked, unfazed, but also feeling proud and self-satisfied.

As the young duo raced up the stairs towards the exit, they leaded on either side of Satotz and, with big smiles on their face, shouted childishly with their arm raised high up into the air.

“Goal!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked that! Can you sense the rivalry? Also, there was more tags I wanted to include, but it would give away too much, so just know that when the time comes... it was all for the plot! Don't hate me! And let me know what you guys think!


	5. The Hunter Exam: Part 2

As Killua and Gon sat in front of the exit chatting and waiting for the remaining contestants to arrive, Gon recounted memories of the different types of Hunters he had met throughout the years to Killua. Many of the hunters he had met tended to pick fights with him, a few wanted to take him under their wings and become his mentor, and others would try to recruit him. Once the last of the contestants arrived and the fog around them began to disperse, they were introduced to the next location of the first phase: The Numere Wetlands, also known as Swindler’s Swamp. A place full of cunning creatures that used deceit to obtain food. Once Satoz finished his explanation, a man emerged from the side wall of the exit and with him was the limp body of a Man-faced Ape and he began claiming that Satotz was an ape attempting to trick them. Gon found it to be strange that the man would choose now to approach when it took several minutes for all the contestants to arrive, it was as if he was waiting there on purpose; he could also sense ill-intent from the man as well. Not only that, but a Hunter would not be so weak as to lose to a creature as frail as a Man-faced Ape, so Gon was immediately skeptical of the stranger. It was also not a good sign that almost everyone seemed to be falling for it. Then, within the blink of an eye, several cards shot out in different directions. Some of the cards struck deep into the abdomen, chest, and center forehead of the stranger - fatally killing the man; the other set of cards were swiftly caught by Satotz with minimal effort. 

“Well, well, that settles it… You’re the real one.” Hisoka stated towards Satotz.

The Man-faced Ape that was supposedly dead in the stranger’s hand abruptly got up on all fours and made a break for it when it realized the jig was up. 

“Examiners are Hunters selected by the committee to perform this duty without pay. Any Hunter, bearing the title we seek, would have been able to block that attack.” Informed Hisoka.

“I shall take that as a compliment. However, should you attack me again, for any reason, I will report you for turning on an examiner. And you will be immediately disqualified. Are we clear?” Satotz warned the magician. Gon lightly elbowed Hisoka on the side and glared up at him.

“You heard him.” Gon whispered up to the man.

“Yes, yes.” The magician said compliantly with a smirk. 

As they started on their way through the wetlands as one big group, the fog began to thicken and so did the tension. Gon sensed several malicious intent from a group following behind Hisoka, and he couldn’t help but become worried. He lightly tugged at the cloth tied around the magician’s waist to draw his attention.

“Hisoka… maybe you should stay closer to me, you know, because…” Gon trailed off, his gaze quickly flickering to the group running behind them.

“Oh, Gon, you should know better than anyone else that I would never miss out on fun~” Hisoka said amusingly. Gon’s brows scrunched up and he frowned a bit, “there really is no stopping you...” he said solemnly and still visibly worried.

“If anything, you should be keeping away from me, they’ll come after you too, you know~”

“But, I don’t want to leave you alone.” Gon pouted slightly, and Hisoka smiled at the boy’s response. 

_ What a typical answer~ _ 🖤

He thought to himself. Gon truly was like a little puppy and the magician found it to be oh so adorable. 

“Hey, Gon, you heard him, let’s move up ahead.” Killua said, trying to urge the other boy to get away from the creepy man. Gon sighed and found no other choice but to comply.

“Okay…” And with that, Killua and Gon picked up their pace and moved closer to the main pack. Although Gon had long ago accepted Hisoka the way he was, he still hoped that Hisoka would at least reign in his bloodlust a bit, and maybe one day completely. He hated to see someone he cared about have so many people wanting his head, it meant that he would have to always be on his toes and could never have a peaceful day to himself until the day he died. But, perhaps, that was exactly what the magician wanted. Gon knew this, but… one day, Hisoka would have to suffer gravely because of his ambitions, and Gon didn’t want that to happen. Hisoka was his first friend after all. 

Eventually, Leorio and Kurapika, Killua and Gon, and Hisoka all got separated in the fog and would have to somehow find their way back. After Kurapika and Leorio managed to get away from the group of Noggin Loggings, they soon found themselves bearing witness to Hisoka being surrounded by a group of people brandishing weapons. 

"Sh-should we help him? I mean, I'm not really fond of him or anything, but he is Gon's friend after all…" Leorio considered. He really didn't like the guy, but Gon did, and he didn't want Gon to be sad if anything happened to the guy that he considered a close friend.

"To be honest, I don't think he would need our help. If anything, we'd probably get in his way." 

Kurapika really didn't want to have to spend anymore time around the man than what was necessary. Just as Kurapika suggested that they leave, they saw the group charge at the magician, and with one swift move from the man, they were all suddenly on the ground - likely dead. Then, Hisoka turned to look at them with a sly smile. The duo immediately sensed danger, and once Kurapika gave the signal, they booked it in opposite directions. However, Leorio ended up turning back around, finding himself enraged at how the magician could just take several peoples lives without a single care or shred of mercy, and he charged at the man. However, all the magician did was dodge him while looking at him with that infuriatingly mocking smile.

"Gon, help~! I'm being attacked~!" Hisoka called out abruptly, causing Leorio to come to an immediate stop. Leorio turned to look in the direction that the magician was calling out to, and there stood Gon. The boy quickly rushed over to get in between the two and spread out his arms.

"Please, no more fighting! I was wrong in hoping that you guys would get along, but please don't fight. Nothing good will come out of it!"

"But, Gon, he killed all these people!" Leorio argued angrily.

"They intended to kill me. It's only logical that anyone who intends to kill should be ready to be killed themselves," said Hisoka in a bored tone, his hands on his hips.

"It's still not right! It's fine if you beat them up, but it's not fine to kill them!" Leorio shouted, now even more infuriated than before.

"Let's say I did beat them to a pulp, do you honestly believe that they would just accept defeat and leave me alone? Or do you think it would be more likely for them to round back up and get revenge on me?"

"You'd never know that! Maybe if you were nicer they might've considered leaving you alone!"

"Me? Nicer? You're forgetting that they engaged me first with the intention to kill me, and you're getting mad at me? And since they were so prepared to kill me, it's obvious that killing is also in their nature as well. Don't forget, this is the Hunter exam, most of the people here have already killed at least one person~" His voice was as sugary and mocking as ever with the intended purpose of making Leorio hate him even more.

"You-!" Before Leorio could continue, Gon cut him off in order to defuse the situation and get back to the problem at hand.

"Enough! If we waste any more time here we won't be able to make it to the second phase in time!"

Gon said warningly, he then took a deep breath to get back his bearings and turned to Hisoka.

"Hisoka, go on ahead. Leorio and I need to get Kurapika before we can catch up." Displeasure evident in his voice. The magician simply shrugged and complied obediently, seeing himself as having done nothing wrong.

"Yes, yes~ Need directions~?"

"No, I've already got something tracking the location of the main group already, I'll be able to find them on my own."

"Okay~"

And with that, the magician left and disappeared into the fog. When they could no longer see the silhouette of the man, Gon turned around and flicked Leorio on the forehead hard enough to throw his head back, and he let out a loud yelp of pain.

“You dummy! What were you thinking! You’re lucky I was around, otherwise you may have very well ended up joining the others on the ground!”

“But he-!” Leorio tried to argue, but Gon flicked him hard on the head again to shut him up.

“But, nothing! He is way out of your league, do you understand that! It’s great that you want to do the right thing and save people, but you can’t do it if you’re dead!”

“Leorio! Gon!” Kurapika called out running towards them, and the two turned to find their blonde friend returning to the clearing and coming to stop beside them.

“Where’s Hisoka?” He inquired cautiously.

“He left first. Now, come on, we need to hurry up or else we won’t be able to make it.” Gon stated firmly and immediately started at a jogging pace towards the location of the second phase, the two quickly following suit. Kurapika noticed Leorio’s forlorn and solemn demeanor and quietly asked about what had happened. After Leorio recounted the events of what had transpired mere moments ago, Kurapika gave the man a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. 

“Even so, I still believe Gon was right. I know just how frustrating it can be to not be able to do something, but you have to be able to discern when to take action and when to retreat, and this just so happened to be the time to retreat."

"I know… I just couldn't stop myself." Admitted Leorio in a shameful tone, his head downcast and expression solemn. 

"I understand, and I'm sure Gon does as well. He's probably upset with you right now because you put yourself in a danger that could have been avoided. You should go thank him for practically saving you back there.” Kurapika then gently ushered Leorio forward with his hand and offered an encouraging smile.

“A-ah, Gon, thank-”

“Sorry,” apologized Gon swiftly, denying the man the chance to finish.

“What?” Muttered Leorio and he blinked dumbfoundedly.

“For getting mad at you earlier and flicking you on the head. I know you were just doing it because you’re a good person, and I knew that Hisoka wouldn’t kill you. It’s just… I don’t want you to one day get hurt for acting in the same way as you did just then.” Gon explained softly, his voice full of worry and care.

“But you did the same thing on the ship!” Leorio argued loudly. “I can do it because I’m strong.” Gon calmly and confidently responded back.

“Are you calling me weak!?” Leorio said, practically screeching at the boy.

“Yes.”

“Why you-!” But before Leorio could finish again, Gon continued, “and I’m also sorry for trying to make you guys get along, I knew that it just wasn’t possible from the beginning, but I just didn’t want there to be any conflict between you guys.”

As Gon jogged along the dirt path, his expression and demeanor became despondent and gloomy. He really hoped with all his heart that they would get along, but he should’ve known better than to expect anything to fall into his favor. Kurapika and Leorio sensed the change in atmosphere around the boy and began to feel guilty, especially Leorio. All Gon wanted was for his friends to get along and not fight, and Leorio felt as if he failed to give Gon even something as simple as that. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, just why is it that you’re such close friends with someone as dangerous and volatile as Hisoka?” Inquired Kurapika. Since the boy admitted to knowing that they didn’t like Hisoka from the very beginning, Kurapika figured that this was as good of a time as any to ask about Gon and his relationship with the creepy magician.

“It doesn’t seem like it now, but I didn’t really like Hisoka at first either. However, we always found ourselves running into each other and he eventually became the only person I could talk to. I’d never had a friend before, so I never knew what qualified as friends. But, when we hung out and talked and ate together, I figured ‘maybe this is what a friend was’. I had really hoped so. In all my time traveling alone, it was worse not having someone to talk than to be friends with someone like Hisoka. And although I do phrase it like having Hisoka as a friend is scraping the bottom of the barrel, he really isn’t all that bad. Sure, he teases excessively and likes to pick needless fights and cause conflict all around him, but I’ve never known him to ever kill someone who wasn’t already prepared to die.”

“What do you mean?” Asked Leorio.

“It’s like he was saying earlier, the Hunter exam is full of killers, and anyone prepared to kill another person must be prepared to die themselves. People living normal lives and working normal jobs don’t interest him, so he surrounds himself with people just like him. If there’s anything in this world he loves more than his deck of cards, it’s killing other killers because they’re more interesting to him. I may not look like it, but I’m a killer too, you know… so one day Hisoka will probably want to kill me, too.” 

Although it should have come as a surprise to the two at hearing that the boy had taken a life, or perhaps lives - it didn’t. For much of the time they had spent with him, there was always a certain kind of air that the boy carried with him. Sometimes, when the boy would talk about certain things or situations in an honest and confident way, it felt as if there was always a sort of weight to them. There were many times when they would notice something in the way the boy would stand or move around, it appeared very similar to that of a hardened soldier. They especially noticed it in the boy’s face, whenever he wasn’t smiling or laughing, his expression always seemed dull and drained of life. It was as if every moment he wasn’t smiling with his friends, it was spent drowning endlessly in an unfathomable void somewhere deep inside his soul, and it pained them to see someone so young and kind carrying such a heavy heart. Perhaps one day the boy would share with them the demons that plagued his heart, but now wasn’t the time.

Kurapika decided to save his real question for a more convenient time and place and continued with their original subject. “Then why are you friends with him?”

“To be honest, I don’t really have a sure answer for that… It’s probably because I’m pretty used to him by now. He’s like a really annoying cat that only causes trouble, but I just can’t find it in myself to leave him alone or see him get hurt. I know it must sound so strange and crazy to you guys, and I don’t really expect you guys to understand - heck, I don’t even completely understand it myself - but he’s become someone important to me.”

“Yeah, it is hard to understand, but it’s not really our place to understand. You two have history together, so I’m not surprised that you’ve grown attached to him. It’s probably hard to forget the time you’ve spent together.”

“Plus, he almost never says no to me. When I ask him to help me on missions sometimes, when I ask him to buy me dinner, and when I ask to play cards with him, he’s always said yes. Perhaps he indulges me because I’m a child, or maybe it's because he knows how pathetically lonely I am, but even so I’m grateful to him for that,” an almost sad, but gentle smile graced his features as he continued. “These things may sound small and silly to you guys… but before then, I’d never experienced such kindness from anyone, or least that I can remember…”

There was a long period of quiet running between them and Gon began to feel embarrassed and a little ashamed of himself for sharing such personal and unnecessary information about himself when they didn't even ask for it. So just when he was about to apologize and ask them to forget everything that he had told them, Kurapika began to speak.

"Thank you, Gon, for letting us get to know more about you." 

Gon blinked, "what? No… I should be thanking you guys for listening to my useless rambling-"

"It's not useless! Not in the least bit! It's good to vent and let others know how you feel and what you're thinking! Otherwise, how would we get to know you better and help you? What you say is important to us, even if you may not think so yourself!" Exclaimed Leorio passionately, his expression and voice reflecting utmost sincerity and honesty that Gon couldn’t doubt him even if he wanted to. 

"We're friends, remember? Friends are there for one another and help each other, no matter how big or small it is. So, you should rely on us more." Kurapika said as he smiled warmly down at the boy. Gon could tell that it was said from the heart and he blushed.

"Mmn… thanks, that really really means a lot to me." Gon bowed his head a bit and covered the lower half of his face with his sleeves to hide the bright growing blush on his cheeks, earning a laugh from the two.

“Aww! So cute! No need to be shy!” Leorio teased playfully.

“No!”

“Wow, your face is really red, it looks like a small cute tomato.” Commented Kurapika as he noticed the bright redness of Gon’s ears. 

“Stop, don’t look~!”

***

When Killua arrived at the front gates of the second phase, he weaved through the crowd of people and searched around for Gon for a few minutes in hopes of finding him. They had somehow gotten separated in the fog without him noticing, one minute Gon was running with him and next thing he knew he turned around to find that the other boy had disappeared. He debated about either waiting for the other boy to turn up or to go back and search for him. As minutes passed and he became more and more restless, he suddenly noticed Hisoka leaning against a tree at the edge of the crowd. Even though he had only just met the magician and had barely spoken a word to him, he already hated the man, but he needed to know where Gon was. So, he pushed down his pride and made his way over the creepy magician.

"Hey, where's Gon?" Killua asked firmly. Hisoka looked down at him and smiled ever so smugly.

"Should you really be using that kind of tone when asking someone for information~?" Said Hisoka with a sly smirk, his expression goading, yet challenging at the same time.

The man's face alone was enough to already annoy the boy, and it must've shown on his face seeing as how the magician's smirk seemed to broaden. 

"Just tell me where he is, you're his friend, aren't you?"

" _ Close _ friend~" Interrupted Hisoka.

Killua rolled his eyes and continued, "you're not in the least bit worried?"

Hisoka merely shrugged, "and shouldn't you have more confidence in him as a friend?" 

How was it possible for one person to be so annoying to deal with let alone look at? It seemed that every single thing the man did, the look on his face, his tone of voice, his body language, and his entire existence to be honest, irked the young ex-assassin to no end. 

"Of course, I just want to make sure he gets here in time."

"He will. I am his  _ close friend _ , after all, I think that I would know more about him and his abilities than you~" Hisoka said, the smirk never leaving his face. 

In an instant, there was a spark of tension between them, and they gazed narrowingly into each other’s eyes. Killua was now more sure than ever… Hisoka was definitely challenging him. Whether the creepy magician was challenging him simply out of enjoyment or in seriousness, he had no idea, all he knew was that he wasn’t going to lose to some irritating asshole like him. 

"What are his abilities?"

"Hm~ why don't you find out for yourself? Well, if he ever does trust you enough to let you find out~" Said Hisoka, basking in the annoyance oozing off the boy.

“Look, I’ll just cut to the chase. I don’t know what you’re pulling with this whole ‘close friend’ charade, but I won’t forgive you if you ever hurt him.” Warned Killua, his expression darkening dangerously.

Hisoka grinned wickedly, “oh~ already playing the jealous boyfriend? How endearing, but I’m not so sure if Gon would find that sour look on your face to be as cute though.” Hisoka said, knowing full well the effect it had on the boy and enjoying every bit of it.

Killua’s jaw clenched hard enough to hear the audible sound of his teeth grinding together. 

"You bas-"

"Killua!"

Before the ex-assassin could continue, he was interrupted by an all too familiar happy and energetic voice calling out his name in the distance. Running up the curve of the hill was the familiar sight of long black hair bobbing up the horizon towards them, and a black gloved hand covered by long black sleeves waving excitedly in the air to get their attention. 

“Gon! What happened? One minute you were there and the next you weren’t, did you slip into a hole or get abducted by a bird or something?” Killua asked, genuinely worried. Gon giggled and waved it off, “no, silly! I was just really worried about Leorio and Kurapika, so once I made sure you were safely on your way to the main group, I quickly headed out to find them. There was a bit of trouble, but everything’s fine now. Sorry about leaving you like that.”

“Geez, you should’ve at least told me. You had me worried for a moment.”

“Thank you, for worrying about me! You’re a good friend, Killua!”

A small blush dusted his cheeks and he turned his head away to avoid having it noticed by the others, “I-It’s nothing… by the way, are you okay? Your face is kinda red.”

Upon hearing that, Gon immediately covered the lower half of his face with his sleeves and bowed his head again to hide away from the eyes of his friends staring intently at him, “ah! W-wait, d-don’t- it’s not-!”

“It’s cute, right!” Leorio said as he pointed at Gon’s red ears.

“It’s a good look on you~” Hisoka added with a smile.

“Stoooop!”

Just as Gon was getting teased by everyone, they all turned their attention towards the large gates, where Satotz stood as he began to speak, “excellent work, everyone. Phase two of the exam will occur here, in the Bisuka Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you.” And with that, he marched past the applicants and disappeared into the forest. 

The ground then rumbled loudly below them as the metal gates of the stone walls began to slide open, revealing a pristine pale yellow mansion with several cooking stations located in the courtyard. 

“Will all applicants who passed the first phase please enter?” Said a female voice.

Sitting at the forefront of the grand mansion was a woman with blue hair and five pigtails on her head sitting on a brown couch, and seated on the ground behind her was an abnormally large man ten-times the size of the woman. Once the examiners introduced themselves as Menchi and Buhara, and explained that the second phase would consist of the applicants cooking meals for the examiners, most everyone seemed to be surprised and irritated by the content of the second phase. When the examiner stated that the reason for it being so was that they were Gourmet Hunters, many of the applicants laughed at them; however, gon did not find it very funny, at all. In fact, it upset him that they would make fun of Gourmet Hunters because they were actually some of the fiercest Hunters out there. He had actually once had the privilege of witnessing a Hunter of that type fight against a Crab Shark in the water and win, it was very incredible from what he remembered. And so, once they were given their instructions by the examiners, the applicants all rushed out of the gates in search of pigs to use for their main ingredient. 

They were surprised to find out that what they had thought would be normal small pigs, turned out to be large ferocious and carnivorous beasts. Once Gon discovered the weakness of the pigs, he delivered a swift, but fatal, punch to the pigs forehead causing it to drop dead instantly. All the applicants eventually caught wind of it from watching him and followed suit. The examiners were surprised that so many of the applicants had already made their way back to the courtyard, each with their own pigs. But, the real test would be the actual cooking part. One after another, all the applicants did was spit-roast the whole pig, incorrectly as well, so it didn’t come as a surprise when Menchi failed them all. Gon always thought that it was important to at least learn some cooking in case an individual didn’t have money or would have to survive in the wild at some point; wrongly cooking something or eating uncooked meat could mean life or death. He himself had actually experienced living off of the outdoors many times before, especially in the beginning of his journey when he had to leave the island and barely had any money for food and a place to stay. It was actually the Gourmet Hunter that he had witnessed kill the Crab Shark that taught him the importance of it and his grandmother that taught him the recipes. 

To start off, Gon began cutting the pig into pieces and marinated them in a special homemade marinade he learned from his grandmother. As he let the pork soak up some of the flavor, he began using some of the leftover pork to make into a stew with the vegetables, and once the stew was done he began grilling the pork chops. Hisoka sauntered over to Gon and hovered over him as he watched the boy at work. Gon noticed the man towering behind him and smiled endearingly up at him. 

“Did you want to try some?”

“I thought you would never ask~”

Gon then scooped a bit of the stew up in a spoon and lifted it up for the magician to sample, to which the man gratefully accepted. As Hisoka sipped from the spoon in Gon’s hand, he noticed Killua watching him bitterly and he grinned back at the white haired boy, causing a vein to throb irritably on the young ex-assassin’s temple. 

“Hey, Gon! I want some too!” Killua said a bit forcefully. Gon took this as the other boy’s eagerness to try his food, so once Hisoka finished, Gon got another spoon and scooped up some more stew for the other boy to try. When Killua side-eyed the magician as he drank from the spoon, he saw a smug grin on the man’s face and the words ‘I was first’ practically written out across the magician’s face. 

“Gon, feed me some of the grilled pork too.”

“Heh, so needy, just like a baby~”

Killua all but growled at Hisoka for that comment and was getting ready to go off on him, “You-” until Gon cut in to avoid an argument breaking out between them, “Hisoka, don’t tease him. It’s not nice, and you won’t make any friends by saying stuff like that.”

“Aww, it was just a joke, right, Killua~?” Hisoka smiled down at Gon, but Killua could see the wickedness behind that creepy fake smile, and he continued to glare at the man.

“Wow, Gon, I didn’t know you could cook.” Kurapika said, eyeing the yummy looking food. 

Leorio took a deep breath and practically began salivating, “it smells amazing!”

Gon smiled at the praise and used one of his sleeves to partially hide his face, “thank you, I learned it from my grandma, it’s how we bond. Would you guys like to try some?”

Gon noticed that everyone seemed to nod rather enthusiastically and he giggled as he began placing the finished grilled pork on plates and some of the stew into a bowl and handed it to each of them. Gon anxiously watched as his friends began cutting into the pork and stared in what seemed like slow motion as they brought the pieces of the grilled pork into their mouths. 

“So good!” Killua voiced cheerfully.

“Now I’m so glad that the second phase was about cooking!” Leorio added all the while shoveling more food into his mouth.

“It’s especially great after the long run we had.” Kurapika said, taking small, but eager bites of the grilled pork. Hisoka didn’t say much, but Gon could tell that the magician liked his food as well, if his now half empty plate was any indication. Which surprised Gon very much, how did the man eat that much without him noticing? Gon watched as his friends ate blissfully until Kurapika reminded him that he had to give some of the food to the examiners to try.

“Oops, my bad, it kind of felt like we were out on a picnic for a minute there and I forgot. I’ll go give them some. Be right back!”

Gon balanced some of the plates of food on his arms and made his way over to the examiners to have them tasted. They contentedly watched the boy walk off excitedly to have his food judged, and smiled. It was strange how a smile or laugh from the boy could lift the air around him so drastically. Normally, when Gon stood alone, there was always this sort of solemnity to him, but when he smiled and laughed he looked just like any other kid his age. 

Menchi was becoming more and more irritated as applicants continued to bring them what was essentially the same thing, and just as she was about to bring the second phase to an end, she noticed an applicant that hadn’t brought anything up for them to try yet. She gazed at the boy intently when she saw that he wasn’t carrying a whole pig with him and straightened her posture as the boy set the plates and bowls down in front of her. Buhara downed the grilled pork and stew in one gulp and gave his usual pass, but what really mattered was Menchi’s decision. The woman eyed the food suspiciously as the last time she was brought something that looked edible, it turned out to be a dud… But it did smell good. Gon watched Menchi nervously as she ate the stew and grilled pork. As he stood there waiting for feedback, Menchi seemed to just ignore him standing there and just kept eating until there was nothing left. 

“Um, did you want seconds?” Asked Gon. 

Menchi didn’t answer and instead wiped the sides of her mouth. She stared down at the plate for a minute and then looked up at the boy, “did you make this myself?” 

Gon nodded softly, “I cooked with my grandma sometimes, the marinade is a special recipe of hers.” He said proudly. 

Menchi sat back with a satisfied smile on her face.

“Not bad. Congratulations, boy, you pass!” She then stood up and announced, “right then, other than 405, no one passes. We’re finished here!”   


This sent the crowd of applicants into a bout of anger, and Todo, one of the applicants, attempted to attack the examiner and was immediately sent flying into the stone wall by Buhara to prevent Menchi from killing him. Eventually, the Chairman of the Selection Committee was forced to be involved and it was decided that to make up for the second phase, it would be redone on Mt. Split-in-Half, where they would have to dive into the deep ravine of the mountain to retrieve a Spider Eagle’s egg to pass. It turned out to be a great and insightful experience for all the applicants and Gon was especially glad that him and all his friends were able to pass the second phase together, and he couldn’t wait to see what was next. Whatever it was, as long as he had his friends, he was sure that they would be able to get through it together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wanna note that although it seems like Gon is leaning towards Hisoka, it's because they've been friends for a while, and once the Hunter Exam passes I will start to build up the connection between Gon and Killua. I just wanted to give an idea of just how comfortable Gon is with Hisoka and have Killua want to also aim to have that kind of relationship with Gon one day. Let me know what you think!


End file.
